Insulator



May Z0, 1930. R. QGERHARDT INSULATOR Filed Jan. 11, 1929 INVENTOR. ZZ frard ATTORNEY.

Patented May 20, 1930 UNITED STATES ROY C. GERHARDT, OF LOCKPORT, NEW YORK INSULATOR Application filed January 11, 1929.

The invent-ion relates to improvements in insulators.

The object ot the present invention is to improve the construction of insulators and u to provide a simple, practical, and etlicient insulator ot' strong, durable and comparatively inexpensive construction, equipped with an insulating member which will always be under compression without torsional strains, thereby increasing the mechanical strength of the insulator over the type ot insulator in which the insulating member is subjected to tensile strain and preventing the continual breaking down of insulators due to the insulating member being subjected to such. tensile strain.

A further obj ect ot' the invention is to provide an insulator of this character having an insulating member consisting of al solid piece of insulating material without holes 'or passages extending through the same and adapted to be pressed out of porcelain or other insulating material, thereby reducing the cost ot' manufacturing insulators.

Another object ot the invention is to provide an insulator adapted to eliminate the necessity ot employing cement for holding the members or units in assembled relation and having its metallic portions so arranged that they form a natural path for any excess voltage or amperage or high frequencies which might come on av transmission line from any cause, such as the line being struck e by lightning, and which might subject the line to more than the usual load and greater than the insulation thereof was designed to accommodate.

With various insulators, when such a thing occurs, the electricity flashes around the insulator, generating great heat and breaking down the insulating material, and thus destroying the device. In the present invention, a. greater air gap is provided around the insulating material than the air gap between the metallic members and as electricity follows the path of least resistance, it will flow along the metallic members without affecting the insulating material and because of the 50 greater strength of the metallic members and lesser susceptibility to the destructive force Serial No. 331,829.

of intensive heat, the insulator will not be injured by such high voltages.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an insulator composed ot' one or more units adapted to be varied in number to provide the required insulation and capable of lateral movement in any direction without producing torsional strains on the parts of the insulator.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an insulator adapted to introduce a certain amount of condenser capacity in the transmission line and capable of providing an easy and inexpensive means ot varying the amount of such condenser capacity to produce the highest ei'liciency, as experience and practice may dictate.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in .the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described., illustrated in the ac? companying drawing, and set forth in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, size and V minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a side elevation of an insulator constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged central vertical sectional view through one of the insulating S members and the adjacent link member.

Fig. 3 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the line 3-3 ot Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the insulating members. v.

In the accompanying drawing, in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, the insulator comprises in its construction a substantially conical insulating member l designed to be constructed of porcelain or other suitable insulating material, preferably of a plastic nature and adapted to be pressed out of such material. The conical insulating member consists of a substantially cone-shaped body portion provided at the 100 top and bottom with axial hub projections 2 Gti and 3 having squared ends, but hexagonal or any other' polygonal form may, of course, be employed. The cone-shaped body portion of the insulat-or forms a projecting flange or skirt and is provided in its lower face with concentric annular grooves 4t.

T he rectangular terminal projections 2 and 3 of the insulating member fit in central cap portions 5 of link members 6 constructed of suitable metal and designed to be cast, forged, or otherwise fabricated. The link members 6 are arranged in planes at right angles to each other, and each link member is silbstantially U-shaped, being p composed of spaced vertical sides and a horizontal connecting bar 7 formed integral with the sides and provided with the said'cap portions 5. The cap portions 5 form recesses which fit the end faces and opposite side faces of the rectangular hubr extensions ,of the insulating member, and the linkmembers are preferably provided at the horizontal or transverse connecting bars 7 with reinforcing webs 8 extending from the central cap portion 5 to the sides of each link member. T he rectangular hub extensions of the insulating member are provided at their sides with grooves 9 which receive and are engaged by inwardly extending approximately horizontal flanges 10 located at oppositesides of the cap porr tion 5 and arranged interiorly thereof, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The link members are adapted to be slidably engaged with the grooves of the insulating member, and they are confined in such interlocking relation by means of suitable lock ing devices preferably consisting of bolts 11 or other suitable fastening devices which pierce the cap portions at one side thereof adjacent the side edges of the link members. The flanges 10 of each link member fit in two of the grooves 9 at opposite sides of the contigu ous hub extension and the fastening devices 11 are arranged in one of the other two grooves of such hub extension. By this construction, the link members are retained in interlocked relation with the insulating member While assembling the parts of the insulator.

Each of the link members 6 is provided at one of its sides with a lug or ear 12, and the other side is provided with a bifurcation or fork 13 forming a pair of lugs or ears 14 adapted to receive a single lug or ear 12 of a similar link member. By this construction, the insulator may be made up of any number of units composed of similar members identical in construction. The U-shaped link members, when arranged in pairs and connected by bolts 157er other suitable fastening devices, form approximately rectangular links in an insulator composed of a plurality of units, as illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawings,

and the fastening devices 15 form pivots or Vpintles to lpermit lateral movement of the link members, and as the link members at each insulator are arranged in planes at right angles to each other, the hinge connection between the various link members will perit lateral movement of the insulator in opposite directions ,without strain, and the interlocking of the link members with the polygonal hub extensions of the locking member will maintain the link members at right angles to each other and will prevent the link members from rotating into contact or parallelism.

The insulator is also provided with end connecting bars 16 connecting the sides of the end link members and preferably provided at one end with a single ear 17 and at thc other end with a fork or bifurcation 18 to provide spaced ears to receive the single ear of a link member while the single ear 17 of Athe end bar 1G fits between the spaced ear of the said link member. This construction of end bar will enable it to fit the end link members, and the said end bars are provided at their central portions with perforations 19 to facilitate the attachment or removal of the insulator.

The air gap around the insulating material is much greater than the air gap from one hardware member to another, and should the line wire or insulator bey struck by lightning, the current will flow through the metallic portions of the insulator and not through the insulating member, as electricity will take the path of least resistance. rllhis provides a natural path for high voltage currents, and will prevent the insulating member from being subjected to destructive heats which would otherwise destroy the insulating member.

The insulator is always under compression and forms an insulated chain resulting in greater mechanical strength, greater dielectric' strength, and better voltage gradient,

'producing permanence and reliability.

What I claim is:

1. An insulator comprising an insulating member consisting of a body portion and axial hub extensions of polygonal formation located at the top and bottom of the body, and freversely arranged link members provided with cap portions fitting the hub extensions and slidably interlocked with the same and adapted to hold the link members against rotary movement, said link members being disposed in planes at right angles to each other.`

2.Y An insulator comprising an insulating member consisting of a body portion and axial hub extensions of polygonal formation located at the top and bottom of the body, reversely arranged link members pro- Avided with cap portions fitting the hub extensions and slidably interlocked with the same and adapted to hold the link members againstrotary movement, said link members CII being disposed in planes at right angles to each other, and means for locking the link members in their slidable interlocked rela tion with the hub extensions.

f1 3. An insulator including an insulating member provided with axial hub extensions of polygonal formation located at the top and bottom of the insulating member and provided with grooves, and reversely arl@ ranged link members having cap portions fitting the liub extensions and provided with projecting flanges slidable in the said grooves and interlocking the link members with the hub extensions.

15 l. An insulator including an insulating member provided with axial hub extensions of polygonal formation located at the top and bottom of the insulating member and provided with grooves, reversely arranged 2g link members having cap portions fitting the hub extensions and provided with projecting flanges slidable in the said grooves and interlocking the link members with the hub extensions, and fastening devices piercing the link members and located at the sides of the hub extensions and locking the link members in slidable interlocked relation with the hub extensions.

5. An insulator including an insulating se member provided at the top and bottom with rectangular hub extensions provided at their sides with grooves, link members having cap portions tting the hub extensions and provided with inwardly projecting 35 flanges slidably fitting' in two opposite grooves of the hub extensions, and fastening devices piercing the cap portions of the link members and arranged in one of the other two opposite grooves of the hub extensions and securing the cap portions in slidable interlocked relation with the hub extensions.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, this 7th day of January, 1929.

ROY C. GERHARDT. 

